This invention relates to an apparatus and method for cleaning poultry and more particularly to an apparatus and method wherein a diffused stream of cleaning fluid enters the rear end opening of an eviscerated poultry carcass from a direction, and at a sufficient volume over time, so that the cleaning fluid is deflected out the rear end opening and beneath loose-hanging tissue hereafter referred to as “abdominal fat flaps”.
All poultry carcasses entering the processing environment are contaminated with bacteria, some with pathogenetic bacteria such as Salmonella. Fecal matter, poultry litter and dirt are the main sources of this contamination. As a result of such contamination, poultry is typically washed at any of several steps during the process of converting a live bird to an edible food product. Such washing aims to remove dirt, offal, blood, viscera, other debris and microbes from the poultry. Removing or reducing microbes aids the safe storage and consumption of poultry, yet many existing washing procedures fail to significantly reduce the microbe burden on poultry. The potential for poultry skin to become cross-contaminated is worsened by the ability of all types of bacteria to adhere within only 15 seconds of contact. Once in the processing environment, a significant number of carcasses can become cross-contaminated with pathogens during handling, scalding, mechanical processing and chilling. Current methods for many of those procedures also fail to significantly reduce the microbe burden on poultry.
One method of cleaning the poultry is the use of inside-outside bird washers. Such inside-outside bird washers wash the inside cavity by spraying a cleaning fluid through a probe inserted into the cavity while the carcass travels along a conveyor. While such washers are useful, there is always the possibility of cross contamination because of the probe being inserted into the cavity of one bird and then into a cavity of another bird. Another method of cleaning poultry is the use of flood washers. Flood washers wash the cavity by filling the cavity with a non-diffused stream of cleaning fluid via flood nozzles while the carcass travels along a conveyor. Other types of washers spray the poultry on the outside and inside of the cavity, with the cleaning solution sprayed inside of the cavity draining out the neck opening, as the poultry is hung upside down by its legs. The use of a peroxyacetic acid and peroxyoctanoic acid, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,556, has been effective in reducing microbial contamination in poultry.
In cleaning the poultry carcass, an additional problem is the abdominal fat flaps. These flaps are the result of a midline cut of the abdominal skin between the breast bone and the cloaca (anus) that allows viscera to be removed. These two flaps are adjacent to the rear opening and are difficult to clean. Further, they tend to trap the bacteria or other contaminants that are attempting to be cleaned. The flaps are connected to the side of the rear opening and flop over the opening. The prior art flood methods do not have a good mechanism for cleaning underneath the flaps because they apply the cleaning solution on top of the flaps while the carcass is hanging by the legs in a vertical position. When the carcass is hanging vertical, the natural condition of the flaps is to fall inside the cavity creating a pocket that is shielded from cleaning. Applying the cleaning solution on top of the flaps reduces their ability to be lifted up so the pocket area can be cleaned. It has often been found that when there are problems with cleaning efficacy, it was due to insufficient cleaning/sanitizing of the inside cavity.
While the foregoing have proved useful and effective in reducing microbial contamination in poultry, it is always advantageous to provide advancements in the development of the reducing of the microbial contamination.